Trailer Lease Agreement Trucking: Fill & Download for Free

I am from Australia and I cannot understand how Trucking works in the USA as we could never survive by using those small 18 wheelers. We like to load them up and make the engines work a bit. The Go-To size truck here in Australia is a 34 Wheeler with a high horsepower Tractor unit which pulls a B-Double which comprises of a 24 feet long “A” Trailer and a 44 or 48 feet long “B” trailer and that length will depend on if you choose a Cab-Over tractor unit or a Bonneted one.We just seem to have it all down “Pat” as these modern rigs just never break down and by using quality Korean Tyres we seldom have any tyre issued either. These things are just the ultimate in reliability. We have a thing called a “Fully Maintained Lease Agreement” where if the tractor unit breaks down then it is Volvo’s problem and not mine and they have to provide a serviceable tractor unit to replace the broken down unit ASAP plus explain why their unit failed to my employers.Next if you want “Safe Driving” then pay the drivers properly and pay them by the hour instead of by the mile and remove the stupid schedules and install monitoring devices so as the “Cowboys” are soon removed from the system. Running this “Just in Time” scheduling is just asking for a dangerous system to develop out on the interstates.Obviously where my ideas come unstuck is when it gets a little wintery and the roads get a bit of ice and snow on them and so the B-Doubles might not work on ice and snow but we don't get that here in Australia. The concept works like Magic in the heat though.

I have retired from the trucking game and things may well have changed since I owned any big bangers but please delete the MB from your list if you do nothing else. I believe the parent company own both Western Star and Freightliner which are both fine but the cab over German marque with the three pointed emblem has some horribly expensive parts in it and I mean like ten times the price type of “Expensive”. They are not reliable and can create some strange electrical problems and have poor resale value.American running gear is less expensive and usually more reliable and for me the brand is a matter of choice and for just regional work I would think that a M-11 Cummins would be fine but that engine will not get you B-Double ratings unless you are using bogie trailers [maybe] so check that out.Freightliner seems to be popular and I have never heard any bad reports about the old GM four stroke engine that became a Mercedes but the new high horsepower version is getting mixed reports.Japanese units were hard to get parts for and they too were expensive and the Isuzu that I had was heavy on fuel. UD had a good reputation but that was a long time ago as well.I have no knowledge of the new-ish Paccar Engine that Kenworth are using but believe that it is a DAF engine which has been re-worked and yes at one point DAF were using Leyland engines and also Fiat engines or IVECO so it may well be a re-born “Cursor” Engine but as I said No real knowledge about that one.Volvo seems to be quite popular and I must say that I have had absolutely nothing to do with the brand which now own Mack. The Mack brand is quite popular in the Mid-Range size at the moment and I have not kept up with the brand since they became a Volvo in disguise but they are very popular and might be worth a look. Volvo and obviously Mack had some deals going with regard to fully serviced leasing agreements which sound very expensive but they are fully tax deductible and so check with your accountant as they might suit your purpose better than trying to do your own maintenance of a weekend. So a few ideas to think about and so check out.

This is a hard question to answer. There are so many variables when it comes to operating expenses. As an owner/operator with my own authority for the last twelve years, I keep a close eye on income and expenses. I don’t run as hard as a lot of others do, usually between 80,000 and 1000,000 miles a year. I run a reefer, so the expense of reefer fuel and unit upkeep is higher than a dry van or flatbed but that is usually reflected in higher rates. A good used truck and trailer suitable for OTR work will cost you between $75,000 and $100,000. A brand new truck and reefer will run you around $250,000, so from the start, you will have truck and trailer payments of $2,000 to $4,000 a month. Fuel alone will run you 4 to $5,000 a month. Insurance will probably be around $12 to $15,000 a year. Good truck and trailer tires run about $500 each and you should get a couple of years out of a set. Then you have the expense of maintenance and repairs.With my own authority, I haul for my own shippers and receivers and they will come and go. Trucking is a very competitive industry. My first shipper was with me for a couple of years and then I lost the account to a carrier that offered cheaper rates. When they could not perform the level of service required, I got the account back. Over the course of three years, without changing my rates, I lost and regained the account three times. Then I found a good broker that had loads where i liked to run, was honest and fair and I ran for them for several years. Now, I run for one customer of my own again.Some owner/operators are leased to a carrier and just run for them and can make an okay net income. I did this back in the seventies and did well.Some people enter into a lease/purchase agreement with a carrier where the driver makes lease payments every week to the carrier and runs their loads. I do not recommend this, as few ever wind up owning the truck and you are basically ‘renting’ a truck driving job.Overall, I would say if you are careful with your expenses and pick your loads for good revenue per mile, you can net 25% to 35% of your gross revenue. The big fleets in the US last year averaged 8% to 14% profit.